Saturday, June 1, 2013

One Bad Bird...!

All went well at the V.A. yesterday, as far as I know. I reckon if things were bad, they would have told me!

Let's consider for a moment one of the strangest hunters in the bird world. This guy is smart and deadly, so let's hope he doesn't change his diet from fish to people!

Black Heron



Herons are stealthy hunters that normally patrol the shallows of coastal marshes, inching forward to put surprisingly large fish within stabbing range. However, the Black Heron of the central African Wetlands has forgone the stalking in favor of a deadly invitation. In a scene that would rival an Aesop’s Fable, the Heron spreads its wings in a circle that creates a shaded silhouette, perhaps resembling a reed palm over the sun bathed waters. Tetras and other small fish seek out what they think is a cool, safe resting spot, but it will be their last. As the fish settle down, the heron’s bill plunges down from the “canopy” spearing the fish. The Black Heron will set itself up at several different locations throughout the day.

Deadly or not, this bird makes a very pretty looking place to attack from. Pretty slick, don't you think?

Let's have coffee out on the patio this morning. It's gonna get hot later, so let's enjoy the breeze.

10 comments:

Gary said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Chickenmom said...

Glad every thing went well yesterday for you! Aren't birds amazing? They are really very cleaver creatures and great hunters. It's been in the 90's here the past couple of days.Ugh. Your breezy patio sounds great - I'll bring some Lorna Doone's for all!

commoncents said...

Best Wedding Photo Ever? Tyrannosaurs Rex crashes a Wedding Party:


http://www.commoncts.blogspot.com/2013/06/dont-you-just-hate-it-when-tyrannosaurs.html

JO said...

Preety looking just sitting there. Some birds are very clever.

It has warmed up here now too. Still windy but not as bad. I knew all would go well yesterday. :)
I'll sit out with you all for coffee this morning.

linda m said...

That really is cool and very pretty. Glad everything went okay at the VA. Very warm and humid here. It's been raining on and off for a couple days now.

Dizzy-Dick said...

I have a couple verieties of Herons that visit my swamp/pond but none are black. At least I have not seen any.

Mamahen said...

Glad things went well at the V. A....thanks for the invite!

Sixbears said...

Pretty slick indeed. The regular herons are deadly enough.

HermitJim said...

Hey Phyllis...
I do like me some Lorna Doones
with my coffee!

In fact, I like all types of cookies pretty well!

With all this early hot weather, I'm afraid that the Summer is going to be a killer!

Thanks for coming over today!



Hey Jo...
It is pretty, no doubt.

Seems like these birds learn the necessary skills to hunt well.

Thanks, sweetie, for coming over today!



Hey Linda...
Supposed to rain tomorrow here, so we'll see what happens!

Our hurricane season officially starts today and that's scary! Might be a bad year!

Thanks for the visit!



Hey Dizzy...
Most that I have seen in our area are white! Probably the same as yours.

Thanks for coming over today!



Hey Momahen...
I appreciate the kind thoughts about the V.A. visit.

Thanks also for dropping by today!



Hey Sixbears...
They sure do how to get the job done!

Thanks for coming over today!



Spurwing Plover said...

The Green Heron uses bait anything they can find to use as bait like bieces of bread feathers,bugs fish food pellets and this Black Heron making his own shade then theres the Cattle Egret that uses livestock